Have you ever heard of this one. . . . The Baskerville Arms Hotel

Close to the Black Mountains, the Brecon Beacons and Offa's Dyke path and within a short walking distance of the River Wye, dishes are prepared from fresh local produce.

Here you will find a homely 'locals bar' atmosphere.

 The Baskerville Arms

Okay, this one is for my love of Yorkshire Pudding. . . . don't know if Sherlock ever had any or not.

3 local pubs that are fantastic for Yorkshire Puddings

THIS week, we are looking at not one, not two, but three superb Yorkshire pubs.

They're separated by many miles but linked by one common thread: their reverence for the beauty that is the Yorkshire Pudding.

We've hunted high and low, north and south, to bring you today's recommendations, especially in honour of Yorkshire Day.

And now, after a bitter but brilliant batter battle, we have three recommendations. So if you're looking for a splendid lunch, look no further....

1 - First up is a pub we have recommended before: The Ship Inn in Aldborough, a pretty little village near Boroughbridge.

I headed out here in 2012, after a letter writer to The Press said the beef was the best she'd ever tasted and the Yorkshires the most amazing she’d seen - and we weren't disappointed!

This is a fantastic place, reputed to have been a pub since the 1300s, and run by Brian and Elaine Rey for the past few years. It's splendid, but the roast dinner in particular is hard to beat.

The beef is matured for 21 days and slow cooked for 20 hours, and the portions are enormous. The piece de resistance is what they call "Brian's world famous Yorkshire puddings" - humongous crisp balls the size of grapefruit, which I still remember fondly.

2 - Next up, a couple of miles south of Pickering on the A169, is The Black Bull.

This place changed hands in March, and the new owners are full of fighting talk. A roadside sign declares: "We serve probably the best Yorkshire pudding in Yorkshire" - a claim that demanded to be put to the test.

There's no shortage of choice here. There are giant filled Yorkshire puddings and the house speciality - homemade loaf tin Yorkshire Puddings with a choice of five fillings. I plumped for steak and ale and chips and it was fantastic.

The method was inspired; the result was a hefty brick-shaped pudding, topped with steak and ale and with a mound of chips on the side.

Best in Yorkshire though? It's good - but it can't beat our final pub......

3 - Step forward The Crooked Billet at Saxton, directly opposite the historic Lead Chapel near Towton battlefield, just south of Tadcaster.

I've had this pub on my radar since a visit to its sister pub (The Cross Keys in Hillam) introduced me to the some of best pub burgers I've encountered. Here, the speciality in a vast and varied menu is the filled Yorkshire pudding, and the quality is outstanding.

All come filled with mash, veg, gravy and a choice of two sausages, roast meat of the day, steak and kidney, or vegetables and veggie gravy.

I've tried the first two now (on separate trips) and both were excellent. It looks a bit messy, buckling under its own bulk, but it tastes tremendous.

If you're in this neck of the woods, and want a proper lunch for Yorkshire Day weekend, in surroundings laden with Yorkshire history this is the place to go.

The puddings at The Crooked Billet (left) and The Black Bull.

Credit where credit is due. . . .

Brad's summer reading list - #9 - ENGI - No longer two thumbs up.

The Engineers Thumb is one of my favorites.
Not because the case is all that great, after all, the only thing Holmes really did was figure out how far from town the house was. And even that required no extra energy from Holmes, because the fire proved to be the last pin needed on the map.
And if we really think about it, that is the only thing nearing a deduction that takes place in the whole story.
We had no parlor tricks as Holmes explains to Watson or Lestrade how such-and-such on a you-know-what, means that you-know-who did you-know-what.
There was not gathering of evidence or days of pursuing small leads.
The case is like Watson said, included for it's grotesque nature and not deductive puzzle.

Watson is not at Baker St. and is happily married to Mary, but Mary once again does not make an appearance and has no dialog.
He is doing well, and can afford a maid.
He keeps in contact with Holmes, but has his own life.
I love the fact that Holmes and Watson like bacon and eggs for breakfast. Well, we at least hope so, for that's what they got.
Mrs. Hudson is not mentioned, but we assume she is the one who cooked said breakfast.
The client seems to have a little more back bone than some we've seen.
And there are a few similarities to GREE. And HOUN as far as it goes with a woman trying to warn off one of our leads.

The thing I really like about ENGI is how there is so much other stuff you can investigate in the story.
And, as is important to me. . . . there is a beer connection.
And, almost as important, there is a personal connection to Queen Victoria, or at least her comfort, and it may even be argued, her privacy.

If you have followed this blog at all, you know finding a connection between Holmes and Watson and beer is important to me.

So, the case involves a young engineer who is hired to inspect an Hydraulic Machine, but comes to realize he has been lied to about the use for the machine.
And while trying to escape receives a grim wound. The reason Watson becomes involved, and then Sherlock.

But how you ask. . . "Does all this have to do with beer, Queen Victoria's comfort and privacy?"

Well, it all comes down to the reason young Mr. Hatherley became involved.
The hydraulic machine.

One of the founding fathers of Hydraulic Engineering and the Hydraulic Press was an Englishman named Joseph Bramah (1748-1814), a Yorkshire man.

Now, not being an engineer, I don't know if society could live without hydraulic machines or not.
But being a beer drinker, I know we can not live without the 'beer engine'.
It may be argued that the beer engine has done more (good or bad) for English society than the hydraulic press could ever do.
The beer engine is the device that allows beer to be drawn from it's cask and up and out to a glass. Joseph Bramah was important in the improvement of that device.
As if this man has not done enough to help in the creation of the Victorian world we love about Sherlock Holmes he does not rest on his laurels.

Nope. Just like the rest of us, he chooses to rest, at least from a period of time each day, on another part of his anatomy.
You see, Mr. Bramah was also an important mover in the world of toilets. He did not invent the flap that is now so common in commodes, but he did make it more common for his countrymen. No longer were our seats freezing in colder weather.
How, pray tell, does this involve the Queen?
Well, some of the water closets he helped develop were installed in the Queens estate at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. And they are still working to this day.
And if the Queen ever felt insecure about her privacy in the water closet she could have also installed a lock from Bramah's lock company.

What could be asked more of a man than to have helped in delivery of beer, relief from it's consumption and the possibility of privacy while doing so?

Like so many other cases of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, there are clues buried within.

Cheers!

I'm Baaaaack! and not a moment to soon. . .

. . . . and will be catching up with Brad's summer reading list here shortly.
But in the mean time. . .

While posting on my Loghead blog page about one of my favorite summer beverages, The Shandy, I came across an unlikely Sherlockian connection.
I always love when I find some connection between Sherlock Holmes and beer, and have many times made that the theme of my presentations.

This time the connection comes from Mr. BSI himself ( no, not Brad ) Mr. Christopher Morley;

In a 1918 compendium of essays collected, appropriately enough, under the title Shandygaff, the American novelist and poet Christopher Morley wrote, "[It's] a very refreshing drink…commonly drunk by the lower classes in England, and by…newspaper men, journalists, and prizefighters."  source

And I fit perfectly into his described demographic.

It is quite common to order one in a pub in the UK and not get any raised eye-brows.

Over here in the US, my family has been responsible for teaching many bartenders our recipe.

There are several breweries over here in the US that now bottle a summer brew called the Shandy.

Cheers.

Which is your favorite scene in BLUE?

We are of course introduced to this adventure with the iconic scene, 
'I had called upon my friend Sherlock Holmes upon the second morning after Christmas, with the intention of wishing him the compliments of the season. He was lounging upon the sofa in a purple dressing-gown, a pipe-rack within his reach upon the right, and a pile of crumpled morning papers, evidently newly studied, near at hand. Beside the couch was a wooden chair, and on the angle of the back hung a very seedy and disreputable hard-felt hat, much the worse for wear, and cracked in several places. A lens and a forceps lying upon the seat of the chair suggested that the hat had been suspended in this manner for the purpose of examination.' 

and of course we have the wonderful illustration by Sidney Paget to go with it.

And although it is a wonderful scene, and I to do like it, it, alas, is not my favorite.

My favorite comes a little further into the story as Holmes and Watson start tracking the path of the wayward geese.

Now, being a bit of a beer snob, and loving the atmosphere of old pubs, may favorite scene covers both of these passions, 

                                                          

'It was a bitter night, so we drew on our ulsters and wrapped cravats about our throats. Outside, the stars were shining coldly in a cloudless sky, and the breath of the passers-by blew out into smoke like so many pistol shots. Our footfalls rang out crisply and loudly as we swung through the doctors' quarter, Wimpole Street, Harley Street, and so through Wigmore Street into Oxford Street. In a quarter of an hour we were in Bloomsbury at the Alpha Inn, which is a small public-house at the corner of one of the streets which runs down into Holborn. Holmes pushed open the door of the private bar and ordered two glasses of beer from the ruddy-faced, white-aproned landlord.'

Ulster coats

I just love the though of these two gentlemen, who have known each other for a fairly long time, walking together in what must have still been a holiday atmosphere. Then walking into the pub and sharing a pint.

I realize the way the story is written that it does not seem likely that Holmes and Watson stayed long enough to finish the pints. I also imagine that Watson was a little peeved at that. But when I replay that scene in my mind, I have Holmes and Watson staying a little longer and maybe even having a second pint, or at least another half.

We are however left with only our imagination to picture the scene and the interior of the Alpha Inn.

The Museum Tavern in London is often suggested as the location of the Alpha Inn of BLUE fame. 

And while we did lunch there when once in London, I do not recall a private bar inside. I could have just not been looking, it may never have existed, or it may have been remodeled.  It doesn't really matter.

Following is as good a description of a private bar or 'snug' that I could find. 

'The Irish Snug.  is named for a quaint ritual in Ireland in the 1800's.  A "snug" was nothing more than a a small private room in a PUB or "public house" (bar) that was in some way connected to the bar so that patrons in the snug could order and enjoy their drinks without being seen by the rest of the patrons of that particular establishment.  Women, who wanted a drink but didn't want the rumors that often followed a visit to a Pub would use the snug.  Other people that might take advantage of the privacy that the "snug" might a policemen stopping in for a quick brandy, or perhaps the local priest who didn't want his business known around town.  Also, wealthier clients that just wanted some simple privacey would pay a little bit more for the discretion that came along with use of the "snug".'   source

They were not limited to Ireland, as is made clear by BLUE. Some would have been more private than others. Some would just have been a small partition, others full rooms.

What's your favorite scene from BLUE?

Tour de Hound - Chapter four - Snarky tour guides and lots of fun stuff.

It is a shame that our tour had to take a detour down Mean Street to find it's way back to Baker St., but even tour guides can have several bad days a month.

When I first read the Hound many (many, many) years ago I was unaware of scion societies and 'Playing the Game'.
How fun it would be to go back and read this story again for the first time and 'Play the Game' and look for clues and try to figure it out as we walk along with Holmes and Watson. That is one thing societies can offer new members. When I meet new Sherlockians I like to suggest they read the stories the first time without the aid of reference books like Barring-Gould and Klinger or even the fun book 'Sherlock Holmes for Dummies' (Hey, B.K., maybe that should be the hand book for us 'Elementary' fans!), suggesting that they try to look for clues and take in the tale without any outside influence. Sure they come up with lots of stuff many of us long time Sherlockians have already covered, but to see them discover it for the first time is such a trill. And, not as rarely as it might seem, they often come up with some new thoughts for us to consider.

The Hound abounds with discussion points and chapter four is no exception.
We find towards the end of the chapter that there were perhaps as many as 23 hotels near Charing Cross.
I don't know what the density is now a days, but I find that remarkable.
Discussion points; how many actual hotels were in that area, and what were some of the names, and are any still around. We now know Northumberland Hotel was, and is still there, and is the home of the Sherlock Holmes Pub. But what was the actual number and how many are there now.

Another discussion point; just today I got on google maps and tried to follow the route Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer could have taken back to the Northtumberland using the streets Watson records.
Touching on Oxford and Regents and going through Charing Cross it would have been approximately two and one half miles. I have walked much of that, and you can really get a feel for the period.
(Simpson's on the Strand is only about a half a mile further, you have to go there for roast beef!)

Another great discussion point, and working for the post office something I find very interesting, is how reliable and often the post (mail) is delivered.
We are told that the letter to Sir Henry was posted the evening before from Charing Cross.
In most large cities in the US, if you post something the evening before it could possibly make local delivery the next day. But in Hound we are also told that the letter probably would have still found Sir Henry even if it had been sent out early the same morning. A few years ago that could have still happened in a small US post office for local delivery, but those days are gone.
Not to many years ago England still had twice or three time daily mail delivery, I don't know if they still do. But even three times a day would probably seem like poor service to many Victorian Londoners.
This wonderful piece in The New York Times explains the British Mail service at the time, suggesting the mail service happened sometimes twelve times a day. (I had one mail route I use to have to walk eight miles a day just to make the rounds once,. . let's see? . . times twelve. . . .?)
Just think about how many times Holmes uses the post in the Canon.

Again, this part of the Hound was not handled well in the Brett series. Again, also, it would be fun to see Cumberbatch and Freeman deliver the tale, even in modern times, as it is written in the Canon.

Let me know some discussion points you found interesting in Chapter Four.
And let's get together again for Chapter Five.

P.S. Sherlock Holmes did not carry 23 shillings around in his pocket (nor 56 for that matter), he asked Wilson for change.

Maybe we can stop by a pub between chapters and get our tour guide in a better frame of mind.

What's in a name?

What's in a name?


Robin Hood made the list, but not Holmes.
Although there are a few Musgrave's.
What's up with that?

I wish my 'local' looked like this.

Heritage pubs   I

I can see Holmes and Watson sitting in one like this in Dartmoor.